Butt hopeful of reviving India ties

LAHORE - PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt has said that the revival of cricketing ties with India during the World Cup will hopefully result in India’s visit to Pakistan or a neutral venue. Talking to journalists at Wagah border on his return from Mohali, the PCB chief said that after talks with the Indian Prime Minister, he was hopeful that bilateral ties would resume shortly. “In fact it is India’s turn to visit Pakistan as they scrapped cricketing ties earlier, and we would host them either at home or at a neutral venue,” he added.

He also found the performance of Pakistan team satisfactory, but said that the decision on retaining skipper Shahid Afridi and the team management would taken after consultations with board members. Ijaz Butt further stated that the seniors have to decide about their future.

“The overall performance of the team was good but they let the semi-final match slip off their hands. You cannot win a match after dropping four to five catches of key players,” he maintained. “I was happy to see the way the team played, particularly the youngsters. Now their next destination is the series against the West Indies, and on their return, they will play three ODIs in Ireland, followed by a series in Zimbabwe and then we host Sri Lanka, which is yet to be finalised,” he said.